One Voice
by donnag76
Summary: Tony's thoughts as he flies home from Afghanistan. (Like Shakespeare was good at summaries either.) This is my first attempt at IM fanfic. Reviews appreciated, but, please, be gentle. Don't own 'em, but wish I did. Then, I would be as rich as, well, Tony Stark.


One Voice

Sitting belted to the wall of the cargo plane, the restraint was more than Tony Stark could take. In his three months of captivity, he had spent most of his time roaming around the cave. Since the search party had found him in the desert, though, he had spent almost all of his time in "freedom" under someone's watchful eye. Even now, Rhodey was never more than an arm's-length away the entire flight from Afghanistan. The reasoning was to make sure he was okay, but it was obvious they had no idea how his mind worked. Being cooped up was worse than any prison his captors could have constructed.

Since his rescue, there had been nothing for him to do and Tony had been left alone with his thoughts. He had no toys, no technology, and no gadgets except for the glowing orb in his chest. He touched it through his shirt absently. An orderly at the military hospital had remarked, "I bet the women will be lining up to see _that_." Oddly enough, he didn't care _what_ women wanted. That was the first clue something big happened to him in Afghanistan. For three months, he had been so set on surviving he hadn't thought of all the "good times" he was missing. He came to the conclusion they he really didn't miss them and that they weren't that good after all. Of all the women, and there had been _a lot_ of women, there was only ONE whose voice he heard in his head. That moment when he was being held underwater and was slowly slipping away, ONE VOICE in his head, calling his name, brought him back, made him want to fight to live...Pepper's voice.

At first, it had surprised him. Of all the people in the world, his PA was the one that pulled him out of his stupor? He remembered the night after the near-drowning; Tony had thrown himself into his work like a madman, building until he actually collapsed onto the small cot he used as a bed. Lying there, staring into the inky black, the thought came as to _why_ the sudden urgency to escape. As he was about to drift off, he realized...it was because he had to get back and hear that voice one more time. If nothing else, he had to get back and thank her for saving his life. But, he knew there was more to it.

Yinsen had said he was a man who had everything, yet nothing and Tony had taken offense. It may _look_ that way, but it wasn't _necessarily_ true. There would be many people who would hate to hear that Tony Stark had died...weren't there? He had employees. He had board members and business partners. He had...Pepper. Once again, it came back to her. Tony fidgeted in his seat, readjusting his sling and pulling at his collar, trying to distract himself from where his thoughts were taking him. But, that was another thing he had learned. Distractions, in whatever form they may take, never changed the truth. The booze, the parties, the "stuff," the women, they were all mere temporary deterrents from reality. Now, stone cold sober for the first time in, well, his adult life, he faced the truth. #1 Contrary to his previous belief, there *was* such thing as "the greater good." It was something bigger than just him. His mission now was to find out where he fit into it all. #2 Whatever his part was, he wanted Pepper Potts there with him. He had missed her and not just the fact that she made his life easier. He missed _her_. Since he heard her voice calling his name, Tony had thought of her in a new light. He caught himself wondering what she was doing. He wondered what she would think of the "new and improved" Tony Stark. He thought of how she would have fussed in the cave because he was working too hard or scolded him in the hospital when he was blatantly ignoring the doctors' orders. He thought about how her smile let him know when he was doing the right thing.

"Hey man. What you grinning about?" Rhodey said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Nothing," Tony lied in reply, schooling his features to their normal mix of apathy and boredom. He had forgotten he wasn't alone and, honestly didn't realize he was grinning. That was when it finally hit him. He, Anthony Stark, whose exploits with women were practically legendary, had a crush on his Personal Assistant. Just as he knew dealing with a missile-wielding terrorist had made him change the direction of his business, he knew that writer for _Vanity Fair_ would be his last fling and...that was perfectly fine with him. Honestly, he was glad. That one voice, the one that rescued him when he was just about down for the count, made him see the direction he wanted his life to take. It wasn't one of the nameless faces he barely remembered. It was Pepper. _His_ Pepper. "Face it, Stark; you're gone," he mumbled.

"Huh?" Rhodey inquired, afraid he had missed something. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. I said I wish I was already home," Tony lied again.

"I know, man," his friend replied. "ETA is 15 minutes, though. Happy is meeting you at the base with a car. I bet it's gonna be either the Bentley or the Rolls, you lucky dog."

"Uh...okay. Great," Tony said noncommittally. He bit his tongue to keep from asking who _else_ would be there. He knew Rhodey had gotten his information from Pepper and he wanted desperately to know if she was coming, too. He fiddled again with his sling and his clothes. This was new territory for him and, frankly, he found it a little bit disconcerting. Heck, he would almost admit to being scared. With a sigh, he settled against his seat.

Eighteen minutes later, they were bouncing along the tarmac at the airbase. Holding onto to Rhodey for support, Tony stood, ready to disembark. However, as the cargo bay door opened, it wasn't the flag that let him know he was home and it wasn't the luxury car or the private plane that made his heart skip. It was the first glimpse of red hair he saw as the hatch slowly lowered. She was here. _Then_ he smiled.


End file.
